Neolithic period · 8200–3800 BCE
The oldest structures we looked for in Cyprus belong to the Neolithic period. Choirokoitia and Tenta lie in the south of the island, while Lemba and Kissonerga are close to Paphos. We deliberately compared these places to understand how similar—and how different—the early settlements were.
At Choirokoitia, round dwellings were already in use in the seventh millennium BCE. Many houses were approximately 2.3 to 3 metres in diameter. Excavations uncovered stone vessels, grinding stones and other objects from daily life. Archaeologists built reconstructions beside the site, helping visitors imagine the height of the walls, the structure of the roof and the confined interior space.
At Kissonerga we entered a reconstructed round house about four metres in diameter and saw the foundations of two ancient houses nearby. Inside, it is especially clear that the dwelling was built from stone, clay and timber. We suggest looking first at the materials and then drawing the plan from above: the circular form becomes easier to understand once it is turned into a diagram.
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